Biki my brother has two kids. The
elder one Dhiaan is four years old and his younger sister Parthavi is two years
old. Parthavi wants to do everything which Dhiaan does, wants everything which
her elder brother has, including playing with his toys, and also displacing him
at being pampered by their parents. Possibly she evaluates her self-worth by
comparing how well she fares against her brother. Dhiaan on the other hand is
annoyed at this emotional blackmail by his younger sister. He senses a visible loss
at being dotted on whenever Parthavi tries to shift all focus of attention to
herself. He possibly feels insecure and that definitely leads to the breakdown
of his normally good behavior.
This scene is very common in
families and several couples must have experienced such sibling rivalry, many
people must also remember this from their own life story. It is not the fault
of the siblings that they behave so, nor is it their fault that they have been
placed in such a situation by their parents. Of course how can anybody blame
the parents also? Its life after all, isn’t it! We advise and cajole the elder
one to bear with the younger one, sometimes scold him too for being selfish. We
more often than not succumb to the tactics of the younger one. In the end we see
better judgment in taking a back seat and let them fight it out and decide for
themselves. I find an interesting
parallel to this sibling competition scenario in today’s inter-religious
inter-caste landscape where intolerance has once more raised its fierce head.
Today the nations’ social fabric
is once more torn by religion and by caste. Some sections of the population
have once more become extremely intolerant. I use the phrase ‘once more’ to
emphasize the fact that such episodes are not new. Maybe if I may dare say, we
have managed to rise slightly above the gender, colour and geographical divide,
though the fault lines are still visible. However much we proclaim that
diversity is our strength, each diverse group is at pain justifying how it is
secular while others are not. It is very easy to get carried away in this
emotionally charged atmosphere. We all end up taking sides which are familiar
to us, each religion sides with their own and each caste side with their own.
Each group feels justified in its thoughts, words and actions. Each group
wishes to enforce its writ or get it acknowledged. Each group carries the
opinion of having being wronged by the other or by the state or maybe even
fate. Each group behaves as if its existence is under threat. Insecurity rules
over reason. Fear rules over love and this happens when religion rules over
spirituality.
People often refer to some
trigger some past cause to explain the present disturbance. While nothing
happens without a reason but having said that, one must not lose sight of the
fact that causes are also events which can be easily misrepresented and
misinterpreted. A normal consequence, a natural sequence can be given an
intention ridden twist, a political or even a partisan colour. Sometimes the
cause also has a previous cause which gets overlooked. Every reaction generates
some unnecessary counter reaction. Definitely a conscious and deliberate acceptance
of the situation would be more advisable; however it is easier said than done in
this impatient age. Today Allopathy is more popular than Ayurveda. People just
want a quick-fix solution which may be ineffective in the long run or could
even be counter-productive.
It is very interesting to notice
that India has gone through such phases of social struggle or if one wishes to
call it social mayhem time and again. Sometimes it became a fight for survival,
sometimes it was to fight against the present regime and sometimes it was an altercation
of egos. Researchers should dwell into the root cause of these frequent
incidents, whether it has something to do with a typical psychology of the
people of this region or even their genes or whether can it simply be
attributed to bad luck. A broad brushing
through history reveals some of these shades: Post migration of the Indus people – The old culture was
destroyed and replaced by the Vedic culture. Even the spiritually inclined and open
Vedic culture changed and became religious and closed. The old native gods
disappear or almost, now they can only be seen in few villages and even fewer
houses. New gods were created, new religion professed, where rituals and
instant benefits took center stage. The caste system made a grand appearance
and natives, the aborigines were either converted or segregated. Post the Buddha- The classical
clash between the spiritual and the religious. He said there was no god and
neither did he respect the caste system. Political patronage became the means
to survival and court intrigue ruled the roost. Even the Buddha was poisoned
and murdered. Over time both groups modified their respective stands, modified
their practices and also their literature. Post
the Mughals – Foreigners enter the scene yet again, this time in search
of gold and glory, introduced a different way of living and a different
religion. This time it was a clash of cultures. Bitter conflicts ended with
slaughter of humanity and only those who converted were spared. Cow protection
became a rallying point for the Hindus. Destruction of temples and looting its
gold became rampant. Post the Christians
– Yet another foreigner comes in, again in search of gold and glory, and introduces
yet another god and a very different culture. They convert people with a missionary
zeal to increase their footprints and social acceptability. They take away
local raw material and work, bring back finished goods, take away the profits
and livelihood, and make everyone a slave. Modern
times post independence – Now there are too many gods, too many religions
and too much population. Old habits die hard and the religious plus caste
fights continue. New constitution proclaims everyone is equal and to balance
the past sins introduces reservation policy. This placating of certain castes
is now beginning to hurt, however there is no way out.
Tolerance or intolerance or the fight against both, whichever
way you look at it, now runs in the psyche of the people of this land. This has
lead to two different schools of thoughts. One says that India was never a
tolerant nation; there has always existed these killings and destruction. The
other says that when inspite of so much struggle if today we are able to call
ourselves a nation, then it is only because we have slowly come to accept and
tolerate the difference in all of us. Over time the number and intensity of
such incidents have reduced and this trend will continue. Maybe that argument
holds weight and promise for the future.
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